Hinged lifting door.



Patented March '14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

NICHOLAS C. SCHOMMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HINGED LIFTING DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming* part 0f Letters Patent NO- 784,896, dated March14, 1905.

Application filed October 19, 1904. Serial No. 229.155.

T0 all wil/0711, t may concern:

Be it known that I, NIoHoLAs C. SCHOMMER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in HingedLifting Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lifting doors cornposed of two sections hingedtogether which are intended to fold together as the door is lifted,thereby economizing space and allowing the raised door to fold upagainst the oeiling. Difficulty has hitherto been experienced in theconstruction of such doors in providing means for initially buckling thedoor-sections outwardly to allow them to be raised. As ordinarilyconstructed, it is necessary to initially pull out the door at itscenter to throw the sections outof line with one another, whichoperation is slow and diflicult and renders the use of such doorobjectionable.

The object of the present invention it to provide means for initiallybuckling the door-sections at their center prior to the liftingoperation without complicating the lifting` mechanism or necessitatingthe performance of additional operations.

As constructed the door of the present invention will be buckled andlifted by the same operation without loss or delay, thereby facilitatingthe operation of the door as a whole.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the door-sections inclosed position; Fig. 2, an edge view, partly in section, taken on line9. 2 of Fig. l looking in the direction of the arrow and showing thedoor-sections lowered; Fig. 3, a similar view showing the sectionsraised, and Fig. 4 a detail of the guideways or slots within which thedoors travel.

The door as a whole consists of an upper section l and a lower section2, hinged together by means of hinges 3, and the door as a whole ishinged, by means of hinges 3, to a suitable support 4, which may be theceiling of the room or other suitable structure. The doors are intendedto close and open the passageway 5, at the sides of which are twocontacting flanges 6, inwardly projecting from the side walls orsupports 7 of the door-casing. On the inner faces of the side walls orsupports are secured guide-plates 8 in suitable proximity to theguide-anges 6, and said plates are each provided with a guide-slot 9,terminating at its lower end in a recess l0 in angular relation to theguide-slot 9 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. It is obviousthat the slots may be cut in the side walls instead of in plates securedto such walls, and the latter arrangement serves only for the purpose ofillustration.

Near the bottom of the lower door-section,

^ on opposite sides of the section, are cam-wheels l1, pivoted to thedoor by means of outwardlyprojecting' studs 12, which project throughthe cam-wheels and serve as a mounting for rollers 13, adapted to travelin the slotted guideways to properly position the door during thelifting operation. The cam-wheels 11 are so mounted that when thedoor-sections are closed or lowered and the rollers 13 have swung intothe end recesses l0 the cam-wheels will abut against the ianges 6 at thepoint of their shortest axes, as shown in Fig. 1. Each of the cam-wheelsis provided in the edge with a groove 14, extendingl partially orentirely around the periphery of the cam-wheel, and the groove serves asa guide for a chain or cable l5, which is passed partially around thecam-wheel and secured, by means of a pin 16 or other attaching means,near the lower edge of the cam when in normal position, as shown in Fig.l. rIhe chain or cable is carried over asuitably-mounted pulley-wheeland provided at its end with a counterbalance-weight 18 to aid in theoperation of the door.

In order to facilitate the buckling of the door-sections at their hinge,a rod 19 is provided connected to the cam-wheel at a point dimetricallyopposite to the point of normal contact, and said rod is connected, bymeans of a spring 20, to the lower door-section. If desired, the doormay be provided with a handle 21 to aid in the lifting' operation,although said handle may be dispensed with when desired.

In operation when the parts are in lowered position to close the opening5 the rollers will rest in the terminal recesses l0 at the lower end ofthe guide-slots, and the door will lic in parallel relation with theinwardly-projecting flanges 6 of the door-opening and in close proximityto the same, thereby forming a tight closure for the openingl orpassage. When it is desirable to raise the door, tension is exerted onthe chain or cable, which revolves the cam-wheel sufficiently to throwit out of the position shown in Fig. 2 into the position shown in F ig'.3, at which point the iange 6 will be contacted by and be tangent with alonger diameter of the cam, which serves to outwardly force the door asa whole away from the opening and into angular relation with theoperating-cable. At the same time that the lower end of the door isbeing thrown out by the action of the cam the movement of such cam willexert a pull on the springs, which are connected to the lower section ofthe door near its upper edge, thereby pulling back the door near itshinged portion, which combined action serves to buckle the doorpreparatory to its being lifted. The movement of the cams throws therollers out of the terminal recesses l0 into the straightguide-recesses, so that a continued tension on the cable will raise andfold up the lower scction of the door into the position shown in Fig. 3,in which position the movement of the door is stopped by the abutment ofthe rollers 13 against the upper ends of the guide-recesses 9. Thisholds the door-sections in angular relation to one another, so that thelower section serves as a brace and relieves the hinges 3 from unduestrain. Under certain conditions it may not be necessary to employ thesprings 20, which may be dispensed with without in any way interferingwith the arrangement of the remaining' mechanism.

1t will be seen from the foregoing description that the raising of thedoor is performed by a single operation and thata uniform tension on thecable or chain serves to initially buckle the sections and afterwardraise them without stoppage 0r interruption in the operation. Therevolution of the cam will be limited by connecting the chain at theproper point, and the provision of the angular guideway serves toproperly position the door at all times. Some portion of the cams willbe in contact with the iianges 6 at all times, thereby serving to holdthe door rigid and prevent jarring or rattling, and at the same time thecams will serve as abutments when the parts are in raised position,which will relieve the rollers from the strain of sustaining the door.l/Vhen the door is lowered, the cam will be returned to normal positionby the action of the spring and by the travel of the rollers, therebygiving a smooth and uni* form travel during both raising and lowering 0fthe door.

- necting the upper section with a suitable support, a cam pivoted toone of the sections, an abutment adapted to be contacted by the cam, anda chain or cable connected with the cam and adapted to initially revolvethe cam to contact the abutment and outwardly project the door-sectionsand then raise and fold up the door, substantially as described.

2. A door consisting of two sections, a hinge connecting the sectionstogether, a hinge for securing the upper section of the door to asuitable support, cam-wheels pivoted to the lower section of the door,abutments adapted to be contacted by the cam-wheels for outwardlyswinging the door, and chains or cables connected with the cam-w heelsand adapted to initially revolve the cam-wheels and then raise and foldup the door-sections, substantially as described.

3. A door consisting of two sections, hinges connecting the two sectionstogethenhiuges for connecting the upper section to-a suitable support,cam-wheels pivoted to the lower section on opposite sides thereof,guide-rollers outwardly projecting from the cam-wheels at their pivotalpoint, g'uideways within which the rollers travel, abutments adapted tobe contacted by the cam-wheels, and chains or cables connected to thecam-wheels for initially revolving the cam-wheels to contact theabutments and outwardly project the door and allow it to be buckled andfolded by the continued movement of the chains or cables, substantiallyas described.

4. A door consisting of two sections, hinges connecting the two sectionstogether, hinges for connecting the upper section to a suitable support,cam-wheels pivoted to the lower section on opposite sides thereof,guide-rollers outwardly projecting from the cam-wheels at their pivotalpoint, guideways within which the rollers travel, abutments adapted tobe contacted by the cam-wheels, chains or cables connected to thecam-wheels for initially revolving the cam-wheels to contact theabutments and outwardly project and initially buckle the door and thenraise the door, and springs connecting the cam-wheels with the lowerdoor-section entirely buckling the door, substantially as described.

5. A door consisting of two sections, hinges connecting the sectionstogether, hinges for securing the upper door-sections to a suitablesupport, cam-wheels pivoted near the bottom of the lower door-section onopposite sides, abutments adapted to be contacted by the camwheels onthe side of 'their shortest diameters when the doors are in closedposition, guiderollers outwardly projecting from the camwheels at theirpivotal points, guide-slots terminating in angularly-disposed endrecesses IOO IIO

ISO

within which slots the guide-rollers operate, and chains or cablescarried partially around the cam-wheels when in normal position andadapted to revolve the cam-wheels out of normal position to contact theabutments at a point of greater diameter to thrust forward thedoor-sections preparatory to being folded and raised, substantially Vasdescribed.

6. A door consisting of sections, hinges connecting the sections, ahinge connecting' the top section with a suitable support, a cam on oneof the sections, an abutment adapted to be contacted by the cam tooutwardly project the door from normal position, and a chain or cableconnected with the lower section and adapted to move the cam intocontact with the abutment to outwardly project the door and allow thedoor-sections to be buckled and the door to be folded by the continuedmovement of the chains or cables, substantially as described. NICHOLASC. SCHOMMER. WVitnesses:

PInRsoN WV. BANNING, SAMUEL 7. BANNING.

